The phone fell from Elena's hand as though it was on fire.

 

After her shift, she didn't sleep. She poured over the internet for any mention of her doppelgänger, time loops, or parallel realities. Reddit was full of conspiracy threads and pseudoscience that did nothing to help. And "don't trust Sarah"? Her best friend since med school? The one who'd helped her through the break-up last winter? Who'd covered two of her night shifts just last week? It didn't make sense, but the camera warning echoed in her head.

 

Elena went over hospital security tapes, something she technically wasn't authorized to do, but the overnight guard was used to her pulling doubles and checking for charting errors.

 

At first, nothing. Then she paused one clip, 7:43 p.m., fifteen minutes before the ambulance arrived. A woman stood outside the ER, staring up at the security camera. Her hood was up. Her face in shadow.

 

Elena zoomed in. The footage blurred. Then, one frame. Clear. It was her. Again. A version of her who looked... wrong. Older. More... hard. Wearing clothes, Elena didn't recognize. Staring directly into the camera with eyes full of warning.

 

And behind her, someone else stepped into the frame. Sarah. Smiling.